Shoe-upper support



s. A. EDDINS SHOE UPPER SUFPORT Filed March 24. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

' s. AQEDDINS SHOE UPYER SUPPORT Filed March 24; 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 2, 1927.

I UNI TEDI STATES.

ATENT SEXTUS Annnnvsor QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR To CORZDO-HYDE 00., A COPARTNERSI-I-IP CoNSIsTINe or FRANCIS HANNIGAN, or BBAINTREE, MAssA- cnnsnrrs, AND SEXTUS A. EDDINS, or QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS. u I A SHOE-UPPER SUPPORT.

- Application filed March 24, 1924. Serial No- 701,284;

This invention relates to footwear, and it is especially concerned with the problem of preserving the lit, shape and style of a shoe.

The great majority of womens and misses 5 shoes now worn are of -the low types, the

Single or double strap styles, pumps, and the like, being very common. Such shoes after a very short period of wear tend to wrinkle through the shank and the upper sags, thus giving to the entire shoe an unattractive and sloppy appearance, in marked contrast to the neat, trimand stylish appearance which the shoe originally possessed.

v The present invention deals with the problem presentedby these conditions, and it aims to devise a support. for the upper of a shoewhich will preserve its shape, improve itsfit, and enable the shoe to retain its dressy appearance much longer than it would otherwise. It is a further object of the invention to devise a support for the shoe upper which, while answering the above requirements, will be economical to manufacture, and will not interfere with the present shoe manufacturing processes, c

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims,

Referring now to the drawings,

Figure lfis a side elevation of the greater portionof a last having an insole attached to the bottoin thereof, and'showing' a support embodying this invention applied to the last;

Fig, 2 Fig. 1;

is a planview of the parts shown in in Fig. 1; 1

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view substan tially on the line-k4, Fig. l and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of thesupport.

Inthe drawings, Qdesignates a last, and

3 an insole tacked thereon. The shoe upper.

Fig.v Sisa bottom view 'ofthe parts shown and a bridge 6 which connects the lower edges of these wmgs and is integral with them. The wings are made of some thin,

stiff, sheet material having suflicientresi l iency to retain its shape and offer a substan,-

tial resistance to distortion, while at the same 7 time yielding to accommodate the movements of the foot. The shape ofthe wings necessarily will'depend', to s'ome extent, on the design and character of thefshoe in which it is to be used, but it is preferable tomake each wing of such a length that it will eX- tend from a point in the wide portion of the heel part of the shoe forward almost to the a junction of the shank andforepartl On the inside of the shoe the forward edge of the wing should lie somewhat behind the great toe'joint, and on the outside of the Shoe'it should be located just behind the little toe joint, so that'as the shoe flexes the outlineof the support or stiffener will not be seen, audit will offer no resistance whatever to thenor-i mal bending movements of the shoe in walk ing. The wings should be high enough to extend from a line close to the edge of the insole or the welt crease upwardly to a point A opposite the upper part of the foot. .In other words, these wings should be of such area and so disposed that they will'supporttho'se' parts of the upper which normallyare' not. subjected to flexing, but which do, neverthe less, tend to sag and become misshapenas' above described, H

The bridge '6 extends across the bottom of the foot and preferably is very much shorter than either wing so that the movements'of the end portions of the wings will not be restricted by the connection of the wings with the bridge. -The 'chief'function of the bridge is to hold the two wings'in' theproper relationship to each other, whilestill permit-gting them to spring apart to'accommodate thefoot. w

The method of assemblingthis support in a shoe will depend somewhat-"on the method of shoe making employed andthe'typ'e of, shoes in which it iSused. In McKay shoes the support sho'uldibe inserted after the asl-f sembling' operation has been perfOrm'e'dQthe wings being. slippedin between the upper and the lining, and the bridge resting on the insole to which it may be secured byasingle tack. When the stitching operation is performed to unite the insole, outsole and upper, the stitches will go through the bridge and'secure it firmly in the shoe.

In making Goodyear shoes, it is preferable. to split the insole from the heel end back toa point in: the shank forward ofthe position to be occupiedby the front edge of the bridge. The support should be slipped in place in the same manner as in ii -McKay shoe except that the bridge will, be located between the split sectionsoftlie insole. It

can be ,heldin this position by single tack driven through the bridge and the innerhali ofthe insole and clinched on theinside, and

the two sections of the insole inay then be so curedtogether back ofthe'b'ridge. Tlieouter part of the insole'will' carry'the lip to which the'upperfandfwelt will be] secured in the usual mannerf V c p I c "The selection 'of a proper material from which tornake'i the support has proved to be a troublesomeproblem, but I have found a that sheet celluloid is best suited to this purpose, Thecelluloid should not be greater in thickness: than thirty thousandths nor less than fifteen thousandths of an inch. I prefer to use celluloid of about twentythousandths of aninch in thickness. The support is cut out oftlie celluloid by ineansof a pattern or die of suitable form, and it is then. molded to the contour ofthe last on which the shoe is to be built. In order to perform this molding operation the celluloid may conveniently be immersed in hot water and then ironed to the form of the last, or it can be shaped by suitable molds. In any event, the entire support should be made to fit the lastaccurately, as shown inthe draw ings, and theop'posite sides of the bridge preferably shouldbeshouldered or creased, as shown, at 7+7, so that the stiil'ener will fitaccurat ely over the corresponding edges of the insole 3' and hugthesjides of the last:

" tightly Preferably, also, the edges'of the Wings should be bevelled orslrived so that p when the support is in fits'normal position ina shoe there" will be noappreciable tendency forthe upper towrinkle and revenue outline of somepartbf the support.

I havedefinitely determined that such a support when "properly" ,placed in a" shoe greatly reduces the tendencyof the upper to sag; it preserves thestyle and neat appear:

ance which the shoe originally has; andit enablesthe shoe toretain its original shape and attractiveappearance for a'verymuch greater length of time than otherwise would be the case ;Furthermore,;sucli a'support contributes to the comfort of the shoe and tendsft'o preserve lfit 30f the upper of the nevertheless, that it can be madeo materials.

Under some circumstances, andparticir larly Where the support is to be incorporated in a high shoe, it is preferable to perforate the wings in order toafi'ord a certain amount of ventilation, and to reduce any tendencyof the device to confined the heat of the foot to an undesirable degree. 7 No clainiis made in the present application toa shoe including a support of the character above described,.but such claims are made in my companion application Serial l lo/701,285, filed of even date herewith,

Havin thus described myinvention, what 1 desire to claim as newis: a

1. A support for the upper of a shoe, comprising two wings of thin, stiff, resilient,- sheet material, said wings being shapedto' tit between the lining and upper of a shoe in the region between the heeland forepart at opposite sides of the shoe and serving to hold the upper in its original shape, and a bridge connecting the lower edges of said Wingsand integral with them, said bridge being shouldered at its'opposite sides to accommodate the corresponding edges of the insole of the shoe.

2. A support for the upper of a shoe, comprising two wings of thin, stiff, resilient,

sheet material shaped to fit between the lining and upper of a shoe at opposite sides thereof: andtend'mg to hold the u perm its original shape, each of said wings forepart and being of suflicienth eight to extend from the insoleup to a point opposite the upper part ofthe foot, a bridge connect ing the lower edges of said .wings and in tegral with them, bothof said wings extending forward for a substantial distance beyondtheir points of connection with the ing long enough extend from a point in the wide: portion of the heel part of the shoe forward to a point near the junction of the shank and bridge, and shoulders at the opposite sides of" the bridge to accommodate the-corre spondi'ng edgesof the insole of the shoe.

snxrus a; nnnnvs. 1 

